Life assurance and pensions

Life assurance companies provide their customers with financial protection and wealth management solutions. Life assurance and pensions is about catering for the long-term aspects of an individual’s life, ensuring that people are set up according to their personal needs and the potential pitfalls they could face. There is an ever-increasing demand for life assurance products as many of us are now living longer and there are uncertainties surrounding the state pension. The three main product lines are:

• Pensions. Savings plans which provide a way of building up a fund for your retirement. At retirement you use the fund to buy an annuity, which is a regular pension income for the rest of your life.
• Life assurance. Products that are designed to protect your family or close ones from the financial consequences should something happen to you, ensuring that your family members are not left with huge mortgages or other liabilities to pay off.
• Investment. Products which invest your money in the stock market, bonds or property with the aim of either making it grow or providing the beneficiary with a regular income.

Job roles in the life assurance and pensions industry can be found in areas such as customer services, sales, marketing, human resources and IT. Graduates can also be employed in actuarial, leadership, business management, pricing or underwriting roles. One of the key areas within the pensions, life assurance and investments business is actuarial work where graduates will work to collate information, analysing and managing the risks of financial contracts, and getting to the nitty gritty of issues. Work in this area is based on the application of mathematical, statistical, economic and financial analysis to a wide range of practical problems in long term financial planning and management.

Starting out in life assurance and pensions

As a trainee with a life assurance and pensions firm you should expect to experience work in different areas before specialising. New graduates will generally work in a team supported by senior managers and will take on work for a number of different clients at the same time.

Work in this area is based on the application of mathematical, statistical, economic and financial analysis to a wide range of practical problems in long term financial planning and management.

Skills for graduate life assurance and pensions jobs

In order to work in the life assurance and pensions area as an actuary you will need a strong numerical and statistical background. Other roles demand good problem-solving, communication and interpersonal skills along with the ability to motivate yourself to study for further exams while working full time. In many areas, graduates will be expected to train for professional qualifications, which are necessary in order to become fully qualified and could take you between three to seven years to complete.

Jasbir Sennitt is graduate resourcing manager at AXA UK and has worked in the life assurance and pensions area for six years.